Predator For Culling

[unite]

 I am trying to develop my own guppy strains and (I know some of you won't agree with this) would like a small predatory fish to cull unwanted fish with. I have a spare 90 litre so the predator would need to be fairly on the small side. Seriously fish lists the African butterfly as suitable for a 80 litre, and iv'e always been interested in them, would they be able to take adult female guppies?, the site does say that in the wild they are more insect eaters than fish. Has to be capable of eating adults though as i'll obviously need to keep the majority of fry to allow them to grow out so i can see what colour they are. I was also thinking of the amazon leaf fish as it's slightly smaller than the ABF and from the seriously fish website it is said to only eat live fish, so i know it will eat the guppies but from a few quick google searches it seems to be quite fragile to any change in conditions, and i would prefer a hardy predator. Anyway iv'e rambled on enough any suggestions would great.

 

[annaw123]

Can't you just sell/give away/donate to a local hospice (which is what I do) your adult guppies ... rather than have them be predated upon and eaten?

 

[Ch4rlie]

unite - this seems to be a rather extreme way of controlling Guppy numbers......
 
How would you possibly control how many guppies this predatory fish will kill and eat, some predatory fish will kill many in one go without eating them, so it may be possible ALL your guppies will be killed within a short space of time?
 
However, even if this predatory fish only kills, say, one guppy a week, all the other guppies will be stressed all the time this predator is in their tank, so therefore their immune systems may be lowered due to stress and become susceptible to diseases.
 
In my opinion, having predatory fish to control fish numbers is far more trouble than its worth, I agree predatory fish are extremely interesting but would do so much better in a biotope tank and fed on insect, larvae, live food etc
 
I would recommend you to re-home your surplus numbers of guppies.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

As an owner of several predatory species (African Butterfly; Leopard Bushfish; Ornate Bagrid; Synodontis cf. budgetti), my understanding is that offering live fish to predatory fish is illegal in the UK. In addition, many predatory species are opportunist and will quickly adapt to suitable high protein pellets etc.
 
I'm aware of someone who has told me they offer deformed fry to their predatory species, who lives in the UK, but it is not for me to say who they are.
 
Can't you find some local fish stores that will offer you say 25p per unwanted youngster, sell them locally on sites like here and Aquarist Classified, or take them along to local fish auctions?

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I've found it really easy to rehome guppies for free using places like the classifieds on this forum and other fish groups.

 

[Baccus]

I can understand your desire to use a predator to eat unwanted fry, and as stated in places like the UK this is illegal.
 
However I have found that there are very few predators that can eat (and will eat) a full grown or even sub adult guppy. Many predators that are going to be big enough to tackle guppies are going to need a large tank. Also many predators will either go on a killing spree and not actually eat most of the fish on offer ( I have seen this first hand with Oscars), or will only eat one of two feeder fish a week. Slow predation will not deplete your endless supply for unwanted fry.
 
Much better to have multiple tanks and segregate the males and females. I keep one tank of undesired males and one tank of undesired females these are only undesired by me because they are not the colour that I am striving for. When ever people want guppies or I need to give them away it is from these undesired tanks that I take fish from. Even though these other guppies are not my desired colour type they still get the best possible care and food, so are really healthy fish ready for some body elses aquarium.

 

[Stimo]

i personally would sooner sell them. you might not get bags of cash but every little counts and would help fund your project?

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Or dry them and use or sell them as fertilizer

 

[CoryFever]

I usually just take my fish to my local aquarium society's auctions. I make a buck and I don't have to cull any. The deformed ones I'll just let die off. Natural selection. 

 

[DarkEntity]

In Great Britain feeder fish was once not uncommon, and well into the 80s so-called feeder guppies were regularly sold in aquarium shops. This has however changed somewhat, many British hobbyists and retailers assume that feeder fish usage in the UK is illegal. This legal standing however remains rather unclear. There are laws however on prevention of cruelty to animals and this does include fish.

My personal stance is this, if your fish will eat frozen defrosted foods, pellets or other food then feed them that as its a far healthier and a more balanced diet, however, I've kept numerous fish that simply will not eat anything but live therefore I fed them guppies (by the bucket load, its not a cheap method.) So for me its a necessary part of the hobby for predatory fish in some cases.